Department for Transport

Railways: Concessions

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to work with train operating companies to ensure they offer free travel for refugees from Ukraine for their initial journey from their point of entry to the UK.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department for Transport is considering what can be offered to Ukrainian refugees by way of free rail travel, along with other Government initiatives.

North Wales Coast Line: Coronavirus

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with train service providers regarding the reduction in the number of through trains from London Euston to Holyhead from seven per day prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to one per day at present; and when they expect to re-establish a full through-train service on this line.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Avanti West Coast currently serves Holyhead with two trains per day from London Euston which is set to increase to four trains per day in May 2022. We continue to work closely with operators in their development of attractive timetables that are reliable, deliver excellent performance for passengers, and offer good value for money. All timetables remain under review as demand returns.

Musicians: EU Countries

The Earl of Clancarty: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply byLord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 21 February (HL Deb col 2), what options they are considering for own account operators regarding musicians touring the EU.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government is continuing to support the touring sector to adapt to new arrangements with the EU. Under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), UK hauliers can undertake up to two additional laden journeys within the EU after a laden international journey from the UK, with a maximum of one cabotage movement outside Ireland. In its recent consultation, which closed on 18 February 2022, the Department sought views on possible measures to help this specific sector to adapt to the rules under the TCA. ‘Own-account’ operators (those carrying their own goods rather than using vehicles for hire-and-reward) are not exempt from the provisions in the TCA, as all vehicles carrying goods internationally for a commercial purpose – including own account operators – are subject to the market access provisions of the TCA, including rules on cabotage and cross-trade. The TCA agreement has been concluded and there is no intention to reopen negotiations at this time. The Department for Transport continues to assess what, if anything, can be done regarding international market access for own account operators at this time.

UN Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have not signed the UN Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships; what assessment they have made, if any, of the impact of this decision on the UK’s maritime security; and what plans they have, if any, to reconsider this decision in the light of current geopolitical situation.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The 1986 United Nations Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships set international standards for the registration of vessels in a national registry, including references to the genuine link, ownership, management, registration, accountability and the role of the flag State. The Convention was negotiated at the UN Conference on Trade and Development and for the Convention to enter into force it requires 40 signatories whose combined tonnage exceeds 25% of the world total. As of March 2020, only 15 States had ratified or acceded to the Convention and Her Majesty’s Government sees little prospect of the Convention ever entering into force. Her Majesty’s Government does not consider that this has impacted our maritime security because the intent of the Convention has largely been met by legislative means in the United Kingdom including, but not limited to, The Merchant Shipping Act 1995, Safe Manning Regulations 1992, Ship Registration Regulations 1993, Regulations to implement The Maritime Labour Convention 2006, and Official Log Book requirements 1981. The Secretary of State for Transport also wrote to all UK ports on 28 Feb 2022 asking them not to provide access to any Russian flagged, registered, owned, controlled, chartered, or operated vessels. Legislation has followed this and Her Majesty’s Government made specific Regulations to impose sanctions on ships with a strong Russian connection in light of the current geopolitical situation.

Shipping: Registration

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to impose tighter restrictions and conditions on ships registering in the UK.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: We have acted swiftly to hold Russia to account for its unprovoked invasion on Ukraine. The Secretary of State for Transport wrote to all UK ports on 28 February 2022 asking them not to provide access to any Russian flagged, registered, owned, controlled, chartered, or operated vessels.Legislation has followed this and the the UK Government made regulations – THE RUSSIA (SANCTIONS) (EU EXIT) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 4) REGULATIONS 2022 – on 1 March which place into law restrictions on Russian vessels. These measures include a prohibition on the registration of ships on the UK Ship Register where they are owned, controlled, chartered or operated by a designated person or persons connected with Russia, or where they are a specified ship.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Liesl Cook

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many appointments were held by Liesl Cook at the point they were appointed an Official Receiver; how many complaints had been received about Leisl Cook at the time of appointment; and what were the outcomes of any such complaints.

Lord Callanan: Liesl Cook was appointed as trustee, receiver and manager, or liquidator in approximately 2,495 cases on her appointment as Official Receiver on 29 July 2013. The Insolvency Service does not retain any data relating to complaints made prior to 29 July 2013.

Eikone

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to investigate the affairs of Eikone Ltd, a company registered at Companies House with £100 trillion authorized share capital

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to investigate the affairs of “The Majestic Wonder Emporium of Mr Magoriums Directed at Islamic Bird Watching and Cricketing Endeavour for the Salvation of the Church and Torah on Sabbath Ltd ", a company registered at Companies House on 25 August 2021.

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to investigate the affairs of App In The Air U.K. Ltd, a company registered at Companies House on 3 March 2022 with Mikhail Shelkov as the person with significant control.

Lord Callanan: We are unable to comment on individual cases. The Registrar of Companies has no current powers to verify information properly delivered in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 or other enactments.However, following extensive consultation over 2020 and 2021, the Government published on 28 February 2022 a detailed White Paper (copy attached) setting out far-reaching reforms to Companies House which will mean that:Anyone setting up, running, owning or controlling a company in the UK will need to verify their identity with Companies House;The Registrar will have new powers to challenge information that appears dubious, and will be empowered to inform security agencies of potential wrongdoing;Company agents from overseas will no longer be able to create companies in the UK on behalf of foreign criminals or secretive oligarchs.It is the Government’s intention to bring forward appropriate legislation early in the next session of this Parliament.Corp Transparency & Register Reform White Paper (pdf, 1920.0KB)

Nuclear Fusion: Research

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with those in charge of laboratories in Oxford who are working on the generation of electricity from nuclear fusion; and what resources they are making available to accelerate this research and its practical application.

Lord Callanan: The Government works closely with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), the UK’s fusion research organisation based in Oxfordshire. UKAEA is widely recognised as a global leader in fusion R&D and is critical to the delivery of the UK’s Fusion Strategy, which was published last year. Since 2017 the Government has committed around £500m towards new UKAEA research programmes and facilities and will continue to support fusion research over the new Spending Review period with £708m allocated to UKAEA within the Government’s £39.8bn R&D budget for 2022-2025. This will help to keep the UK in pole position to commercialise fusion energy, which would be low-carbon, sustainable and secure.

Department of Health and Social Care

Mental Health Services: Females

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many women aged (1) 18 to 24, and (2) 25 years or older, have accessed primary care mental health services, in each of the last 10 years.

Lord Kamall: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Health: Recreation Spaces

Baroness Merron: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of (1) green spaces, and (2) gardening, to (a) mental, (b) physical, and (c) social, health.

Baroness Merron: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking toenable more people to benefit from the (1) mental, (2) physical, and (3) social, health benefits of (a) green spaces, and (b) gardening.

Lord Kamall: In 2020, Public Health England published Improving access to greenspace: A new review for 2020, which examined the health effects access to green space, including gardening. The report found evidence that exposure to greenspaces can promote and protect good health, aid in recovery from illness and help with managing poor physical and mental health, including social impacts such as loneliness and community interaction. A copy of the review is attached.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is supporting the preparation of a national cross-Government framework of green infrastructure standards, to ensure new developments include accessible green spaces and areas with little or no green space can be improved for the benefit of local communities. Good quality green infrastructure plays an important role in addressing issues of social inequality and environmental decline in urban and rural locations, whilst also leading to better places to live.The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is leading a cross-Government project on tackling mental ill-health through green social prescribing with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement, Natural England, Sport England and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The project is taking place between April 2021 to April 2023 at seven sites in England. It will test ideas for embedding green social prescribing such as gardening and walking into communities, in order to improve mental health outcomes including social health; reduce health inequalities; reduce demand on the health and social care system; and develop best practice in making green social activities more resilient and accessible.Improving access to greenspace A new review (pdf, 1210.5KB)

Department for International Trade

Small Businesses: Trade Agreements

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to benefit from the provisions on small businesses in free trade agreements.

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel: I refer the noble Lady to the answer I gave her on 3 February 2022, UIN: HL5511.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support local organisations in countries delivering COVID-19 vaccines donated by the UK to ensure that they are distributed efficiently and effectively.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is committed to help bring the acute phase of the pandemic to an end as quickly as possible. The UK has provided £548 million to COVAX's Advance Market Commitment and will share 100 million vaccine doses, with the majority of these being delivered through COVAX. This has helped COVAX deliver over 1 billion doses to 144 countries and territories worldwide.All vaccine doses donated by the UK through COVAX use trusted international delivery partners like UNICEF to ensure they are distributed efficiently and effectively. For COVID-19 vaccines the UK has donated bilaterally, we receive assurances from these countries that they have the capacity to roll-out the doses in line with their national vaccination programmes.

Russia: Sanctions

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to sanction Russia by excluding them from the SWIFT international payments system.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Following discussions between the UK and international partners, the EU announced on 2 March that 7 Russian banks would be removed from SWIFT on 12 March. UK pressure was instrumental to this decision. This measure on already sanctioned entities, in concert with the US and the EU, will ensure that these Russian banks will no longer be able to use SWIFT to transact with banks in any country, regardless of whether that country has imposed sanctions on Russia.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support the delivery of the UK’s G7 pledge to donate 100 million surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses to COVAX by June 2022.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK announced on 11 June 2021 that we will donate 100 million surplus coronavirus vaccine doses to the world by June 2022, with 80% of these doses donated through COVAX.The UK champions vaccine access for all countries through our support for COVAX. The UK was one of the earliest and largest donors to COVAX, contributing £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC). Our early funding gave the COVAX AMC the purchase power to secure deals with manufacturers to supply internationally approved vaccines for up to 92 low and middle-income countries. So far, COVAX has helped deliver over 1.16 billion doses to 144 participants.As of 4 March 2022, the UK has donated almost 36 million Covid-19 vaccine doses. 32.6 million doses have been delivered to countries in need, of which 26 million have been delivered via COVAX and 6.6 million doses donated directly. A further 3.3 million doses have been received by COVAX and will shortly be allocated and shipped in line with COVAX's fair allocation model. An additional 32.3 million doses have been committed to COVAX, to be delivered in the near future.We have also announced £160 million to support the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation to continue its vital work to develop new, and improve existing, vaccines against COVID19 and other diseases with pandemic potential.

Russia: Sanctions

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the time taken to sanction named Russian oligarchs.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The amendments to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (the Sanctions Act) in the Economic Crime Bill, to streamline the current legislation, will ensure the Government can designate groups of individuals more quickly, and enable the UK to align rapidly with designations imposed by our allies. An urgent designation procedure will enable the Foreign Secretary to swiftly designate individuals, entities and categories of persons designated by the EU, US, Canada, Australia and others.

Russia: Sanctions

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to impose sanctions to restrict the transfer of money in and out of Russia in the form of cryptocurrencies.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Prime Minister has announced the largest and most severe package of economic sanctions Russia has ever seen. Acting in concert with our allies, our measures will deliver a devastating blow to Russia's economy and military for years to come. We will also introduce a further Economic Crime Bill to enact the full set of reforms to Companies House, as well as new measures on anti-money laundering; seizing cryptocurrencies; and tackling the abuse of corporate structures used to facilitate crime.

Russia: Ukraine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to record details of Russian attacks in Ukraine on (1) civilians, (2) schools, and (3) hospitals; and what steps they will take to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Ukraine has suffered horrific attacks, including missile and air strikes which have torn through apartment blocks. Innocent people including children have lost their lives. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is recording details of Russian attacks in Ukraine.Russia's use of indiscriminate force against innocent civilians is clear for all to see. It must be investigated and those responsible held to account. The UK joined 44 partners on 3 March to launch an OSCE mission to investigate violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by Russia in Ukraine. The UK led efforts to expedite an ICC investigation into Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Israel: Palestinians

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledonon 21 February (HL6050),what judicial bodythey consider would beable to makedecision aboutallegations of the crime of apartheidin respect of Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The issue of jurisdiction over the crime of apartheid is a matter for an appropriate international judicial body. The government believes that the use of the apartheid terminology hardens positions on both sides. We encourage direct engagement between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Our priority remains support for a two-state solution.

Home Office

Refugees

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the response by Safe Passage, the Hummingbird Project, and Kent Refugee Action Network to their proposed new plan for immigration; and what provision they intend to make for the specific needs of refugees and asylum seekers for (a) accommodation, (b) education, and (c) employment.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We note the joint report by the young people of Safe Passage, the Hummingbird Project and Kent Refugee Action Network, ‘Safe routes from the perspective of young refugees – our response to the New Plan for Immigration’, published on 25 June 2021.As part of the New Plan for Immigration, there was an engagement and consultation process which ran from 24 March 2020 to 6 May 2021. During this time, the Home Office encouraged stakeholders and members of the public to share their views on its proposals via an online questionnaire.The Home Office’s response to the consultation was published in July 2021 and can be found here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1005042/CCS207_CCS0621755000-001_Consultation_Response_New_Plan_Immigration_Web_Accessible.pdfThe New Plan for Immigration will deliver the most comprehensive reform of the asylum system in decades. It includes plans to set up accommodation centres to provide basic accommodation for asylum-seekers who would otherwise be destitute. We will only accommodate people in the centres after an individual assessment shows it’s suitable and safe for them. We also continue to seek opportunities to expand the number of areas participating in our dispersal area accommodation system.Asylum seekers’ children under 18 will continue to have access to full-time education and continuous support in line with our duty under section 55 of the Borders Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.In terms of employment, we will allow asylum seekers to work if their claim has been outstanding for 12 months or more through no fault of their own. Those permitted to work are restricted to jobs on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL).

Weapons: Smuggling

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prevent the illicit flow of surplus arms from the war in Ukraine into the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The UK and our international partners condemn Russia’s assault on Ukraine, which is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state, and a violation of international law. This Government is committed to tackling the threat posed by trafficking and the misuse of illicit firearms. The UK has some of the toughest firearms controls in the world. To protect public safety, the Government keeps them under constant review to safeguard against abuse by criminals and terrorists. The Government will monitor the situation in Ukraine, using intelligence to continuously assess the threat of surplus arms being trafficked into the UK. To tackle the flow of illicit firearms being trafficked into the UK, Border Force and its partners ensure that we have the right intelligence, detection and enforcement capabilities at the border. Alongside this, the National Crime Agency and our international partners tackle the threat upstream by engaging with source and nexus countries.

Unexplained Wealth Orders

Lord Sikka: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Unexplained Wealth Orders have been issued against a Javier Clemente Engonga Avomo who, according to Companies House records, is director of The United States of America Corporation Ltd, The United States of Africa Corporation Ltd and World Corporate Organization Ltd, which have authorised share capitals of £1.8 trillion, £500 billion and £900 billion respectively.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We do not comment on individual cases.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Recreation Spaces: Regional Planning and Development

Baroness Merron: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of (1) gardens, and (2) green spaces, in achieving their Levelling Up ambitions.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Levelling Up White Paper is clear that green infrastructure is a key component to levelling up, as so many levelling up goals are connected to green places that local people can be proud of. People’s lives are shaped by the social and physical fabric of their communities. The local mix of social and physical capital, which includes good quality green spaces, gives areas their unique character and vibrancy, and makes residents proud to live there.A beautiful built environment, access to leisure and cultural amenities and safe neighbourhoods can also attract businesses to high streets, leading to increased footfall and private sector investment in communities. To make this a reality, communities must have strong civic institutions, assets and relationships that anchor local pride in place.My department has set out in the National Planning Policy Framework that planning policies and decisions should take into account the desirability of maintaining an area’s prevailing character and setting, which can include preserving residential gardens.My department is delivering the £9 million Levelling Up Parks Fund which provides direct grants to deliver over 100 green spaces in the communities with the lowest access to green space.The Government also announced in the Levelling Up White Paper that we will invest a further £30 million to refurbish at least 30 parks in England, with an emphasis on providing facilities for young families.Further details on these funds will be announced in due course.

Northern Ireland Office

Domestic Visits: Northern Ireland

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has travelled to Northern Ireland in each of the last 12 months; and how many of these visits included an overnight stay.

Lord Caine: Between February 2021 and February 2022, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland made the following visits to Northern Ireland: February 2021: 3 tripsMarch 2021: 5 tripsApril 2021: 5 trips May 2021: 4 tripsJune 2021: 4 tripsJuly 2021: 2 tripsAugust 2021: 1 tripSeptember 2021: 2 tripsOctober 2021: 2 tripsNovember 2021: 2 tripsDecember 2021: 2 tripsJanuary 2022: 4 tripsFebruary 2022: 2 trips These include 22 overnight trips.

Belfast Agreement: Anniversaries

Lord Rogan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement in 2023.

Lord Caine: Preparations are underway to mark this historic milestone appropriately and give it the recognition it deserves. Further details will be announced in due course.This Government remains totally committed to the 1998 Agreement which has underpinned so much of the progress that we have seen in Northern Ireland for almost a quarter of a century.

USA: Visits Abroad

Baroness Hoey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any (1) Ministers, (2) civil servants, or (3) special advisers, will be attending St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States of America in March in an official capacity; and if so, what is the cost of any such attendance.

Lord Caine: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland's visit has not yet concluded and it is not, therefore, possible to provide the information requested.

Treasury

Deposit Return Schemes: VAT

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce regulations to amend VAT lawto accommodate the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme.

Baroness Penn: To ensure that new drinks deposit return schemes (DRS) being introduced across the UK operate effectively, the Government is exploring how VAT regulations may be amended to support the operation of new DRS and will continue to work closely with stakeholders.

Deposit Return Schemes: VAT

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that VAT laws would have on the rollout of a Deposit Return Scheme.

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include clarifications for drinks producers on the application of VAT on depositsin theirresponse to the consultation on introducing a Deposit Return Scheme, which closed on 4 June 2021.

Baroness Penn: It is a fundamental principle of VAT that all amounts paid for the purchase of goods are subject to VAT, including amounts under drinks deposit return schemes (DRS). The Government is committed to making DRS work effectively and is exploring how the VAT regulations may be amended to support the schemes. HMRC will issue guidance on the application of VAT to deposit refunds in advance of the introduction of any scheme.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Telecommunications: Rural Areas

Lord Beith: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on vulnerable people in remote rural areas of the loss of telephone contact during power cuts; and what plans they have to review their policy of withdrawing telephone land lines from some rural properties given the experience during recent storms.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The telecoms industry is retiring the Public Switched Telephone Network as the old technology reaches the end of its serviceable life, with landlines being replaced by Voice over Internet Protocol services. The decision to upgrade the telephone network has been taken by the telecoms industry and not the Government. Ofcom, the independent telecoms regulator, has issued guidance on how telecoms companies can fulfil their regulatory obligation to ensure that their VoIP customers have access to the emergency services during a power outage. This guidance was prepared following consultation with Ofgem and the industry, looking at data on average power outages among other factors.This guidance states that providers should have at least one solution available which enables access to emergency organisations for a minimum of one hour in the event of a power outage in the premises, and that the solution should be suitable for customers’ needs and should be offered free of charge to those who are at risk because they are dependent on their landline. This might include relying on the mobile network, which has a high degree of power resilience, or using a battery back-up unit to provide power. Ofcom’s full guidance is available on its website here.As part of our standard procedure for large incidents, DCMS is working with Ofcom and the telecoms sector to complete a Post-Incident Review on the response to Storm Arwen. Similarly, BEIS as the Lead Government Department for energy is undertaking its own review; both these reports will identify lessons and develop actions to improve responses for future events.

Digital Markets Unit

Lord Dubs: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce legislation to provide the Digital Markets Unit with statutory powers in the next parliamentary session.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Government consulted on our proposed approach to a new pro-competition regime, overseen by the Digital Markets Unit, last year. The consultation closed in October, and we are carefully considering the responses. We will set out the final design of the regime in our response shortly, and will introduce legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Technology: Companies

Lord Dubs: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure a level playing field is established by legislative and regulatory means to allow UK news publishers to negotiate for proper and fair payment by technology companies for the news content they generate.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Newspapers play an invaluable role in the fabric of our society and the Government is committed to considering all possible options in the interest of supporting the sustainability of the press. We understand concerns about the effect of the power and position of some online platforms when dealing with news publishers, as was identified by the Cairncross Review.The Government set out its proposals for a new pro-competition regime for digital markets in a public consultation in July 2021. The regime will drive a more vibrant and innovative economy across the UK. In line with codes proposed in the Cairncross Review, the regime’s conduct requirements will improve competition and transparency and make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press. We have also sought advice from the Competition and Markets Authority and Ofcom on how the regime would govern the relationship between platforms and content producers including news publishers. No final decisions have been made.A consultation response will be published in due course and we will legislate to put the regime on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Hyde Park: Road Traffic

Lord Moylan: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the removal of COVID-19 restrictions in England, what plans the Royal Parks have to reopen the South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park to vehicular traffic.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Royal Parks charity manages Hyde Park on behalf of HM Government, and is responsible for decision-making about operational matters.This is an operational matter for The Royal Parks. We understand, however, that South Carriage Drive has been closed since March 2020 as part of a trial to reduce through traffic in Hyde Park. Whilst the original trial was focused on weekend restrictions, the road has also been closed for safety reasons on weekdays during this period due to the introduction of a temporary cycle path, immediately outside the park, by Transport for London.We understand that The Royal Parks is currently assessing evidence of the trial on the weekend restrictions, and plans to make an announcement about the closure later this year.

Digital Markets Unit

Lord Dubs: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to support the establishment of a Digital Markets Unit within the Competition and Markets Authority, (2) to provide the necessary financial support for the recruitment of personnel to the new Digital Markets Unit, and (3) to ensure the new Digital Markets Unit has the necessary powers to intervene on a statutory basis.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Government established a new non-statutory Digital Markets Unit (DMU), housed within the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), in April 2021 to begin to put into effect the pro-competition regime. We will legislate to put the Digital Markets Unit on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows.At the recent Spending Review, the Government agreed to provide the CMA with an additional £20 million by 2024-25 to support the dedicated Digital Markets Unit and other CMA functions.The DMU will have a range of powers to monitor and enforce the regime. The focus of the regime will be on resolving concerns through constructive engagement with firms, without the need for formal investigations. The DMU will need, however, robust powers to deter and tackle non-compliance. We set out our proposals for these powers in our 2021 consultation, and will publish our response to that consultation in due course.

Social Media: Russia

Lord Birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are monitoring how (1) Google, (2) Facebook, and (3) Twitter, have responded to reported demands by the government of Russia to withhold reports of Russia's armed actions in Ukraine.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: As the Secretary of State set out in her statement on 3 March, we have been engaging regularly with the major platforms, which have taken a number of positive steps in response to the situation.The Counter Disinformation Unit in DCMS continues to work closely with platforms to flag specific pieces of disinformation and have them removed where they violate a platform's terms of service. Regular engagement with platforms is ongoing, and we are continuing to speak to them about safeguarding features and ways of better protecting civilians who are using their services. We will continue to work closely with them to encourage further action to support the Ukrainian people.

Gambling: Internet

Viscount Astor: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conclusions of the PricewaterhouseCoopers reportReview of unlicensed online gambling in the UK, published on 3 February 2021; in particular, the conclusion that unlicensed gambling has grown to a turnover of £1.4 billion with 460,000 users.

Viscount Astor: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in conjunction with the Gambling Commission to prevent unlicensed online gambling.

Viscount Astor: To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they have that problem gamblers are betting with illegal operators.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Government is reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure it remains fit for the digital age. As part of its broad scope, the review called for evidence on the size of the black market for gambling in Great Britain and the ease with which consumers could access illegal gambling websites. The report by PwC on unlicensed gambling will be considered as part of the review.The Gambling Commission assesses information gathered from multiple sources and works closely with partner agencies to prevent access to illegal websites by consumers in Great Britain. If the Commission decides to take action against an illegal operator, it will initially issue a Cease and Desist letter. If this action does not prove successful, it will use disruption techniques, which includes using its relationships with web-hosting companies to suspend or IP-block consumers in Great Britain from accessing websites, contacting payment providers to remove payment services, and liaising with social media sites to prevent websites appearing on search engines or being hosted. The Commission will also use some of the additional income that it is receiving from its recent fees uplift to increase its ability to tackle illegal gambling.The Commission is aware that some illegal websites are targeted at people who experience significant harms from their gambling and self-excluded gamblers. The Commission is particularly focused on identifying and disrupting these illegal operators.

Broadcasting Programmes: Young People

Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to support the creation of programmes for young people since they stated that "the availability of new, engaging and relevant content for young audiences is of great societal importance", in their Contestable Fund Pilot: Supporting Young Audiences and Audio Content, published on 19 October 2018.

Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to improve plurality of funding routes for culturally specific UK children's content.

Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to level up TV production now that the Young Audience's Content Fund has ceased.

Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government which of the factors that led to the creation of the Young Audience's Content Fund have changed to justify the ending of that fund.

Baroness Benjamin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, (1) to renew, or (2) to replace, the Young Audience's Content Fund.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: HM Government is committed to ensuring that young listeners and viewers benefit from a system of public service broadcasting which remains relevant and which can continue to meet the needs of UK audiences in the future. That is why we are conducting a strategic review of public service broadcasting – drawing on the work of Ofcom, Select Committees in both Houses of Parliament, and the Government’s own expert PSB Advisory Panel – to work out how best to achieve this in light of the challenges the sector is currently facing.The three-year pilot Young Audiences Content Fund was designed to test a new way of financing public service TV content. A full evaluation of the pilot Fund will take place following its conclusion to determine its impact on the children’s television industry and the provision and plurality of public service content for young audiences across the UK. The potential for further investment of public funding will be assessed against the Fund evaluation and alongside future public service broadcasting needs.The Government is committed to the success of our world-leading TV production sector. UK-wide tax reliefs continue to play a vital role in driving production across children’s, animation, and high-end television, supporting approximately £2.2 billion production spending in these sectors through tax reliefs in 2019 alone. The Government continues to act to support the industry in developing the physical infrastructure and skills pipelines it needs to sustain success - success which has seen 2021 being a record-setting year, with total high-end TV production spend reaching more than £4 billion.